Born and raised in Long Island, N.Y., Lauter majored in English Literature in college and went on to have an acting career that spanned more than 50 years. Some of his most memorable roles included the prison guard in 1974's The Longest Yard, opposite Burt Reynolds, a gas station attendant in Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot, and a cop who takes justice into his own hands in Death Wish 3. He also played a butler in the 2011 Best Picture winner The Artist.